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Sit down! Get comfortable! You're in for a treat every morning at 11:00 Eastern/10:00 Central! Be sure to join us in our Discord for our daily, live show chat as you enjoy the fabulous, 60-minute Price Is Right!

Note: In 1999, there were about 10 pesos to the dollar. Now it's closer to 20. My conversions are based on the exchange rate at the time this show aired. This recap is noticeably more wordy than the other Atínale recap I did because there's a lot more to explain with the 500th show celebration and a sweepstakes going on. The YouTube link to this episode is already posted in the Video Collection if anyone wants to watch and tell me what parts of the translations I screwed up because I'm sure I did so more than once.

The show opens with an on-screen graphic of the big doors which "open" to reveal the cheering audience. Announcer Jaime Kurt reads the opening titles as they appear.

Confetti and streamers shower the audience as Marco enters and takes the mic from Roxana. He is wearing a black suit and the Beauties are in lime green and blue color-block dresses.

The audience is chanting "Marco! Marco! Marco!" and he explains that today is the 500th episode of AAP en El Canal de las Estrellas! And to celebrate this momentous occasion, every contestant called down to la línea de las cifras/contestants' row will receive 500 pesos in cash (about US$50 at the time)! He calls for the first item up for bids.

1. Una escultura de bronce (bronze horse sculpture), modeled by Diana

D' Rocha: $2500Lore: $1500Ricardo: $2001Adry: $2550

Marco points out that if they make a perfect bid, they will win the standard $500 bonus in addition to the $500 they already have.

Precio de compra (purchase price): $4104! Adry wins that admittedly expensive sculpture and goes to what on our show would be the top of the winner's stairs with Marco.

Adry, who is from Mexico City (D.F.) and still has a thin piece of streamer on her shoulder, is in for a real treat! She will be the first person to play a game that was specifically created for the 500th episode celebration. After today, according to Marco, it may never be played again! "Tal vez nunca más," as he explains it.

Marco: In each of the three doors, there is a prize. In this case, you cannot win all three prizes, just one. But you get to choose which prize you want out of door number one, door number two, or door number three...

The audience is already yelling out which door to pick.

Marco: You haven't seen them [the prizes]! It's not "La Catafixia de Chabelo"! We're going to look at them first. To start with, Adri, can you tell us what's in door number one, Sir Kurt? (NOTE: He's referring to a Mexican show called "En Familia con Chabelo" which had a segment called "La Catafixia" where audience members were given mystery prizes and could swap them with one another without actually knowing what they were until the end.)

Marco asks Adry first to tell him which of the three cars she wants if she should win the game. She chooses the third one, the Neon. This is kind of like that three furs game on the nighttime version.

So this is just going to be a game of Most Expensive, right? Well, yes and no. Marco actually gives her one of three ways to win — she can choose to tell him which car is most expensive, which one is middle-priced, or which is the cheapest. Following her friends' advice, Adry decides to choose the most expensive. Again, she picks the Neon. Let's check the other two prices first.

Cavalier (#2): $149,531

What about the Escort?

Escort (#1): $147,826.

If that Neon is more than $149,531, Adry wins it! What's the price, Diana?

Neon (#3): $144,048! If only she'd decided to pick the least expensive! With the prices being so close however, it was a total crapshoot regardless.

"Ay Dios mío," laments Adry.

In true Barker fashion, Marco throws it to commercial with "We'll have game number two after this message."

A slow-motion replay of Diana revealing the price is a bump to commercial.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The show returns to a weird pre-taped segment showing a shovel forklift driven by Roxana dumping more letters onto an already huge mountain of mail in the center of the set, which now has the Gamesa cookie company logo plastered everywhere. Cynthia and Diana stand atop said mountain and "sort" through it with shovels.

Marco appears and explains that today is the final drawing for the Gamesa sweepstakes and that they've already given away over two million pesos to both contestants on the show and people taking part in the contest (that'll come up later in the show). Cynthia comes down off the pile with a box top containing the name of today's $5000 winner:

Miguel Angel González Muñoz from Mexico City! Felicidades!

He adds that participants in the competition can win also win the cars, showcases, etc. that the in-show contestants win.

Tufic tells Marco that he's from "la ciudad más hermosa del mundo"(most beautiful city in the world) — Pasco de Alarcón, Guerrero. Marco asks about his unusual name and whether it means anything. Tufic responds with "Teófilo", which is very old Spanish name.

Marco: So your name is Teófilo?Tufic: No, Tufic.Marco: On your birth certificate, it says Tufic.Tufic: Tufic Majul Estrada.Marco: Yes, but in what language does it mean "Teófilo"?(Tufic looks perplexed and the audience starts laughing.)Marco: Don't worry about it, it's not a problem. I didn't think it would be this complicated.Tufic: It's Teofil in Arabic. My father was an Arab.Marco: Oh, that makes sense...Tufic: But he didn't know that.

Everyone cracks up and applauds. Marco knows when to pack it in and calls for the next item.

2. Un gimnasio infantíl (child's playground set), modeled by Cynthia.

Tufic: $1200D' Rocha: $3000Lore: $2500Ricardo: $2501

Precio de compra: $2651. Ricardo está ganador.

Back to the giant price tag where he can win...

¡Un comedor ginebra! Or Geneva dining room, modeled by Diana. (They do this a lot on Atínale. They'll offer a room of furniture and tack the name of a place onto it, such as "a Barcelona living room" or "Lisboa bedroom". I'm not totally familiar with Mexican culture, so I don't know if this type of thing is common in furniture sales there or what it actually means.)

Anyway, it's a basic black enameled dinette set with matching china cabinet. It also comes with dinner for 10 at the popular traditional Mexican restaurant "El Sabor del Tiempo" (Taste of Time), presumably in the form of a gift certificate. The latter is represented by various Mexican dishes laid out on the table.

Ricardo can win it all playing ¿Con Melón o Con Sandía?/With Cantaloupe or Watermelon?, their version of Double Prices wherein each of the the possible prices is represented by said fruits. You'd NEVER see Most Expensive and Double Prices played back to back on our show! The prize is behind the doors, the game is behind the price tag.

Is the comedor $12,554 (melón) or $13,445 (sandía)? Ricardo says sandía. Is he right?

$12,554

Nope. No tamales or pastel de tres leches tonight!

Replay of Ricardo's loss as we go to commercial.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Marco: From the list of lucky people comes...Jaime: Genoveva Sánchez Mendez, ¡baja y atínale al precio! (Middle-aged brunette in a brown striped sweater vest over a purple top and brown leggings; her nametag reads "Beba")

3. Una silla mecedora (rocking chair), modeled by Roxana.

Beba: $2200Tufic: $2700D' Rocha: $1600Lore: $3000

Precio de compra: $2500. Beba is out of la línea as fast as she arrived.

The audience is chanting her name as she makes her way up to the turntable. Marco gives her her $500 and shows her what else she can win.

¡UN AUTO! (Diana)

It's a little white two-door hatchback that kind of looks like a VW Golf, but I really can't tell what it is as no makes and models are given for cars on the show. Also comes with a supply of various car care items from Comercial Mexicana.

Marco instructs her not to include the price of the car care products while she plays De Par en Par, or Money Game (literally "in pairs"). The board is shaped like ours with the same color scheme, but it's huge!

There are five digits in the price of the car and the middle number is 6. This means than the car is less than US$10,000. The board is as follows:

90 83 8852 17 9337 80 85

Beba starts with 85.

$

Even though there's a dollar sign behind the incorrect numbers, Marco makes no reference to winning any money in this game. Their version is either the car or nada!

She wants 90.

$

With so many possible choices for the first two digits, this game is tough. She tries 93.

Back of the auto! Very lucky.

Marco: You found the most difficult pair, Beba.

Is 88 the first two numbers?

$ (The board is so high that Marco has to stand on the base to reveal the number.)

Beba's final choice is 83. Just as he's about to reveal it, Marco abruptly stops to ask if she wants him to reveal it quickly or slowly. She says quickly and he reveals...

$ (insert Mexican losing horns here)

The correct price was obviously $80,693. She wins no money, although MX$346 (about US$35) isn't much of a loss. That's probably why they don't even worry about the cash in this game.

Marco: If I want to come to AAP and continue celebrating, what do I have to do, Jaime Kurt?

Ricardo and Beba will have a spinoff/bonus spin. Marco explains that in the bonus spin, landing on 5 centavos will earn you $5000 and 15 centavos gets you $15,000. But if either one or both of them should be so lucky as to land on the peso, they will win...

Beba: 75¢Ricardo: 5¢ **$5000** (Before he leaves, Marco tells him that his total winnings are $8,151.)

Ricardo may have the money, but it is Beba who will compete en El Gran Paquete at the end of the show.

A shot of the audience with a multicolored light border of interlocked puzzle pieces takes us to commercial as Jaime tells us not to miss the second half or "segunda parte" of Atínale al Precio!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Enrique Garza Pacheco, ¡baja y atínale al precio!" (Late 30s muscular man in a dark blue sweater and black jeans; his nametag reads "Kori")

Door number three opens to Diana next to a trip skin which reads "Esto es el momento" (This is the moment) and the Gamesa logo. Jaime explains that they will give the name of the audience member who will be partnered with the onstage contestant in this segment. This contestant, as mentioned earlier, will win whatever their onstage partner does, including the showcase if they make it there.

Marco then points out this audience member, Deyanira "Deyi" Iniestra Morales from Estado de México! He says she already has $5000, which I guess she got just for participating.

4. Una máquina lavavajillas (dishwasher), modeled by Cynthia

Kori: $3100Tufic: $4500D' Rocha: $3500Lore: $3200

Precio de compra: $3769. D' Rocha tiene máquina lavavajillos.

She goes back the price tag with Marco and receives her $500, but that's not all she and Deyi can win.

(Tag lifts.)

"¡20 mil pesos en efectivo en Cero a la Derecha!"

Cero a la Derecha (literally "Zero to the Right") is their version of Grand Game played for MX$20,000 (about US$2000). The board is a cheaper-looking replica of ours in a lighter green. As with our version, she has to start at just $2.00. What is the target price?

$30.00

The products are (no brand names mentioned, although the logos are clearly visible)

Now, my Spanish isn't 100%, but it didn't sound to me like Marco gave D'Rocha the option to quit and take the $2000. He just reminds her that if she makes the worng choice, she loses it all.

She wants the additive. If she's right, she and Deyi will each win $20,000! ¿Cuánto cuesta el aditivo?

$26.00 ¡Sí, señor! Deyi comes down from the audience to give her a hug.

Replay of Marco revealing the price of the additive as we go to break.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"María de los Angeles Aguilar, ¡a la línea de las cifras! ¡Baja y atínale al precio!" (Early 20s brunette in a black top and high-waisted jeans; her nametag reads "Carlos". I'm not kidding.)

Precio de compra: $1823. Carlos, who would look far better in that traje that any of the guys in spite of her misleading nickname, goes to the price tag with Marco for a chance at...

Una recámara italia/Italian bedroom, modeled by Diana. There we are again with the oddly-named furniture groupings.

Carlos can win it playing "Numero a la Casa" or "Number on the House", known here as Pick-a-Number. Similar to their little variation on Double Prices, this version features a board shaped like a house with the price representing the address.

$ 9 _ 2 0

Should she fill in that blank with 3, 5, or 9? She chooses the 5, which Cynthia gladly inserts into the empty spot. Does she win this cheap bedroom?

$ 9 3 2 0

Nope. Lo siento, Carlos.

Marco: Now, for our friends sitting out there [in contestants' row], we have something special.

Jaime tells them that they will receive a radio/grabadora (CD radio). Now onto the second ruleta de los pesos.

Carlos will take her bonus spin and try to win the car that was lost in the first showcase showdown.

Bonus spin: $1.00! ¡AUTO NUEVO! (The arrow was literally just hanging onto the peg, but she got it!)

Two friends come onstage to celebrate.

Clip of Carlos winning her way onstage is used as a bumper.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Top winner: CarlosRunner-up: Beba

What's the first paquete, gentlemen?

Paquete numero uno begins with un estudio juvenil/children's study! It comes with a guitar and violin, modeled by Roxana and Diana respectively. Also included is a huge wall unit, a drafting table with lamp, a pair of rainbow plaid recliners, end table and table lamp. The rainbow chairs are kinda half-tacky and half-cool.

Jaime: Here [in the study] you can plan great adventures like, for example, a trip to Acapulco!

It's a trip for two, lasting eight days and seven nights. Modeled by Cynthia in a bikini and sarong.

Jaime: This gran paquete also has [trip skin lifts] un auto!

It's a little teal two-door hatchback that looks kind of like a Geo Metro or something similar. Again, probably only available in Mexico.

And this paquete can be your if the price is right!

Marco mentions that this is the seventh car offered on today's show, tying the record for the number of cars offered in a single episode of Atínale.

Carlos obviously keeps it and bids $95,600. What do we have for Beba?

Jaime announces that the 500th episode celebration continues with una sala Santoria/Santoria living room, modeled by Diana! It consists of a white sofa with matching loveseat and chair, matiching end tables and coffeetable, matching Mexican-style jug lamps, candelabras, and a grandfather clock.

And to go into that sala, a big screen TV! Rather than wheeling it out into to the living room set like we usually do, it comes around on the turntable with Cynthia. Jaime mentions the something about the fun premiering in September, so I guess he either means the airing of this episode (September 3) or the season premiere of Atínale.

But instead of just sitting her new sala at home, Beba will be in for a real treat when she wins a trip for two to Los Angeles! While there, she and her guest will attend a taping of the U.S. TPIR, then about to start its 28th season on CBS! As with the Acapulco trip, it's for eight days and seven nights! Various clips of our show play during the plug as well as a MIDI version of the theme.

And then we randomly segue into the next prize — una cocina integral/kitchenette!

This cocina includes a range, counters, cabinetry, a wall phone shaped like a watermelon slice, microwave with trolley, and a refrigerator/freezer. There are also some strainers and other miscellaneous kitchen items included. (I love how Atínale always threw in little items such as these when they gave away rooms of furniture. Most contestants on our version would care less if the new kitchen they won came with a new dish drainer or measuring cups.)

And this paquete can be yours if the price is right! And I must say that these showcases seemed much more cohesive than the other Atínale recap I did on here!

Beba bids $74,500.

¿Quién ganará?---------------------------------------------------------------Before revealing the winner, Marco makes an observation that I could hear Barker saying verbatim.

Marco: During the commercial, we were talking about coincidences. Seven is a number usually associated with luck, right? Okay. Today, we offered seven cars. Carlos is the seventh contstant to win a car in Ruleta de los Pesos. And if Carlos wins the car in her showcase, she will be the seventh contestant to win two cars. A coincidence; I'll leave it at that.

Her total for the day MX$205,702 (about US$20,000), a fortune for this show! Probably one of their biggest winners ever, although I have no way to confirm that. Her friends again come down to celebrate.

Marco simply thank us for watching and signs off. There's then a weird split screen (stationed to the left) showing Carlos y sus amigas doing the winner's walk in the top screen, with various slow-motion clips of today's show playing in the bottom. The credits roll up the right side on a rainbow background. Cynthia drives the first car she won out onstage.